Stations Could Overpower Aereo With Own Initiatives

All of the interest in Aereo is warranted. Travel back to 2005 and think how cool it would be to watch live TV – from the NFL to “Grey’s Anatomy” – on a tablet-size
screen at the beach. The cost? As little as $1 a day or $8 a month.

If the Aereo reality is no longer as breakthrough, consider it has backers and enemies with some pretty big heft. With the
encouragement of Barry Diller, who’s been a step ahead many times, IAC has invested heavily in the venture. And, the Big Four broadcasters are engaged in litigation looking to shut it down,
believing its live streams of their stations will cost them carriage payments and ad dollars.

Yet, Aereo isn’t waiting for a judge or jury to decide its fate, making the announcement
Tuesday that it would expand its platform beyond New York into 22 cities this year.

But even if it clears legal challenges, broadcast stations might be able to simply overpower it with their
own mobile-TV services, which could be as easy to use and cheaper. Maybe more importantly, the broadcasters have the promotional might that Aereo probably won't be able to match.

Notable
broadcast groups are behind two mobile-TV initiatives gaining some steam, carrying the consumer brands Dyle and MyDTV. The Dyle group includes NBC and Fox, which are part of the anti-Aereo
litigation.

Dyle and MyDTV work differently than Aereo, using an over-the-air mobile signal for delivery, rather than an Internet connection. Both efforts have some catching up to do to with
Aereo, which is ready for prime time in New York and probably can swiftly expand to the other markets.

Aereo is accessible via an array of devices, while both Dyle and MyDTV are more difficult
to use. Both need to find more hardware to carry the embedded capability to easily watch their live station feeds via a free app.

The Dyle service is available in 35 markets, but apparently
can only be accessed via a new 8-inch RCA Mobile TV Tablet; by MetroPCS customers with a particular Samsung phone model; or by purchasing an external antenna for about $100. The antenna works with
iPads and iOS devices, but not Android-powered devices yet.

Besides NBC and Fox, station groups behind Dyle include Belo, Gannett and Hearst. The Fisher and Hubbard groups are taking a leading
role with MyDTV – where Nexstar, Sinclair and Tribune are also involved -- with a trial in Seattle and Minneapolis.

The MyDTV alliance is handing out 750 receivers in each of those
markets, allowing for access via iPhones and iPads. Once the receivers are plugged in and the app downloaded, the service is free. It offers a “live record feature” that would appear to
resemble Aereo’s DVR-like functionality (Dyle isn't there yet).

Aereo already competes with Dyle in New York and will in many of the markets it plans to move to this year, including
Atlanta, Chicago and Washington. Aereo is also planning on launching in Minneapolis, where MyDTV has its experimentation.

Some may say it’s a rogue maneuver, but one advantage Aereo has
is that it offers NFL games. The NFL has a mobile distribution deal with Verizon, which prevents Dyle from carrying its games.

Other than that, Aereo might consider ramping up its marketing
– which has been minimal – to get a sense how viable a business it has. Otherwise, the potential for Dyle and MyDTV to become more popular is significant.

Start with cost. Both the
Dyle and MyDTV apps are free for now. (Dyle has pledged to keep it that way through 2013.) One-time hardware costs do come into play, but could go way down. Aereo has a subscription model.

Aereo consumption is subject to data caps, meaning users might find themselves having to pay more to watch it if their plans are tapped out. Mobile over-the-air TV is delivered through a different
mechanism. It can also be used without an Internet connection, so even beyond WiFi range.

Also, stations have an ideal promotional platform that even Barry Diller’s money might be
challenged to match: their airwaves. Directing people to the mobile feeds during newscasts and promos is free with wide reach.

There’s one other advantage the broadcast groups have over
Aereo: they aren’t running up huge legal bills fighting the major networks.

1) DTV will require the purchase of a hardware component whether dongle, mifi, or some other external attachment with the tuner;

2) That attachment will run hot- another problem for a tablet, mobile phone or PC;

3) The concept of having a DTV tuner embedded in a mobile device is a fantasy- Verizon and AT&T will stand firm on their gatekeeper role with LTE broadcasting and good luck with Apple- who is going to write the big upfront check for DTV? How will DTV devices ever realistically scale in a mobile ecosystem?

4) DTV and broadcasting is not VOD which is what users really want therefore DTV is back to square one- no where.

Folks paying $$$$ for cable service with a zillion channels that no one cares about is the real issue - if there is demand for Aereo, OTA broadcasting should embrace it and make money with it.

Just like Joe Clayton at Dish said today, "There's an audience of 18 to 35 year olds who want only two dozen channels" plus broadband.

LZ above is right on the mark. Owners of big transmitters need to face the music - their big stick power eaters will be going away for good in the not too distant future. Present efforts at trying to implement (or monetize) ATSC-Mobile are a waste of time, "local stations" and other content providers should instead look at how to earn their income from their web portal. My smart phone has a web browser with 720P video capability, why should I buy a tablet or other junk to watch ATSC-Mobile?

I picture a day when major content providers (studios, networks, even local stations) announce a release day & time for major program content, after that it's up to individual viewers to access the program when they are interested. All video becomes VOD over the net, with decent network bandwidth even the need for a personal video recorder goes away (sorry Tivo!).

Syncbak is the only realistic option for broadcasters. Its technology enables broadcasters and studios to maintain territorial exclusivity while distributing live television content OTT to mobile devices - without dongles or anything else. The Syncbak app, available in the Apple Store and Google Play, carries live television in markets with a TV station on the Syncbak platform. We have 115 stations in 80 markets, more signing on everyday. We protect the broadcaster, offer VOD and offer revenue generating opportunities.

Syncbak sounds great - until you check the permissions (pardon the all caps, I'm quoting Google verbatim): "READ CALENDAR EVENTS PLUS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION" and "ADD OR MODIFY CALENDAR EVENTS AND SEND EMAIL TO GUESTS WITHOUT OWNERS' KNOWLEDGE". So Syncbak wants to know everything about me AND be able to impersonate me, especially to my friends. I don't think so!!! You will never get this app on my phone. There must be a better way...

Doesn't apply to Apple at all and won't apply to Android on this next release (within 7 days). These were actually for a third party ad network, which again we've done away with. Check us out in a week! :)